Ted Cruz Booed Off Stage At Middle East Christian Conference

[cajuncocoa]

//

[sparebulb]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOOZ6aPooSk

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/10/ted-cruz-booed-off-stage-at-middle-east-christian-conference-video/#ixzz3CyDdAfsM

I hope that Rand is watching.

[Wren]

Scum.

[fr33]

He spews a bunch of hate while accusing others of hate.

[erowe1]

I hope that Rand is watching.

I do too. But this didn't hurt Cruz as a presidential candidate. It helped him.

[specsaregood]

well aint that interesting.

[specsaregood]

IDC’s Executive Director, Andrew Doran, then came out on stage, saying “For the love of God, we’re here to talk about Christians and we’re here to be united.”
Then maybe cruz should have concentrated on talking about Christians instead of talking about how great jews are. just saying...

[CPUd]

http://i.imgur.com/uuWa3IN.jpg

[erowe1]

Then maybe cruz should have concentrated on talking about Christians instead of talking about how great jews are. just saying...

No. He knew exactly what he was doing.

[Brian4Liberty]

“Christians have no greater ally than Israel,” he said, at which point members of the crowd began to yell “stop it” and booed him.

“Those who hate Israel hate America,” he continued, as the boos and calls for him to leave the stage got louder. “Those who hate Jews hate Christians. If those in this room will not recognize that, then my heart weeps. If you hate the Jewish people you are not reflecting the teachings of Christ.

Well, it looks like the audience was not buying the standard propaganda redefinition that says that the Israeli government and Jews are one and the same. There are plenty of Jews who are not Israeli, and there are those that do not agree with the actions of the Israeli government. That does not mean that they "hate the Jewish people", aka self-hating.


“If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews,” he said. “Then I will not stand with you. Good night, and God bless.” And with that, he walked off the stage.

And thus leaves the Senator from the Great State of Israel-First. I wonder if he would have the same reaction if he was talking about some Texas law or policy and people booed him on that? "If you do not stand with Texas, then I will not stand with you." Of course Cruz would never, ever criticize Texas or the United States.

[Tywysog Cymru]

Israel is certainly not a friend of Palestinian Christians.

[r3volution 3.0]

http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/10/ted-cruz-booed-off-stage-at-middle-east-christian-conference-video/


Sen. Ted Cruz was booed offstage at a conference for Middle Eastern Christians Wednesday night after saying that “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.”

Top comments:


No one ever said speaking the truth was going to be easy. Shame on the attendees of this event. Blind fools


This response sounds crazy. I don't believe these people are strictly "Christian" and just 'happen to be' from the MIddle East


SOUNDS LIKE THEY ARE as much Christian as Obama is. Was Rev. Wright there?


I'm thinking they are Middle Easterners (Arabs and such) that claim to be Christians. Clearly they hate Jews and they probably hate Americans too. They would have done better to invite and extremist imam to talk with them


When vampires see the Crucifix, they melt. When Muslims hear "Israel" they melt. This audience was stacked with fake Christians all to attack who could be the next President or VP. Cruz handled himself well. I wonder how Obama would handle it if he got booed by "Christians?"

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Apparently these people are unaware that they constitute a tiny minority of Christians worldwide, the overwhelming majority of whom don't share their bizarre obsession with Israel. Meanwhile, the politicians (like Cruz) that these holy-rollers support are arming the barbarians in Syria who are butchering Christian communities that pre-date their own sect by nearly 20 centuries.

Insanity

[enhanced_deficit]

Is Rafael Cruz in ok mental health ?

When is next election for his seat coming up.

Related

BBC NEWS | Israel hit by Bible burning row
British Broadcasting Corporation
May 21, 2008 - the burning of hundreds of copies of the New Testament by Orthodox Jews


Religious MK destroy Bible in the Knesset

July 20, 2012

http://ivarfjeld.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/burn.jpg?w=435&h=338 (http://ivarfjeld.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/burn.jpg)


.. MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) for tearing a New Testament and throwing it in the trash, the Knesset’s sole Christian MK, Hanna Sweid, said.

http://ivarfjeld.com/2012/07/20/religious-mk-destroy-bible-in-the-knesset/

[Vanguard101]

I'm not surprised at all. It angers me that he supports Israel

[jmdrake]

American Christians booed Ron Paul for supporting Jesus.

[r3volution 3.0]

American Christians booed Ron Paul for supporting Jesus.

Perhaps they think Jesus was a secret Muslim too...

[Christian Liberty]

Perhaps they think Jesus was a secret Muslim too...
Hey, he talked about liberal hippy stuff like loving your neighbor as yourself and living at peace with all men:rolleyes:

I wouldn't be surprised at all if 99% of American "Christians" are not actually saved. In fact, I'd be shocked if that wasn't the case.

[Matt Collins]

Apparently these people are unaware that they constitute a tiny minority of Christians worldwide, the overwhelming majority of whom don't share their bizarre obsession with Israel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism

[anaconda]

Does anyone else besides me think Ted Cruz is a rather poor public speaker? Among other things, the sincerity meter only gets up to about a 1 or 2 for me when he speaks.

[anaconda]

I am not totally unconvinced that Cruz may be campaigning for the express purpose of helping Rand get elected at the convention. I'm guessing Cruz might like to be A.G. or on the SCOTUS.

[anaconda]

What was that tender and serene music being played as he was being ridden out of town on a rail?

[devil21]

I almost came.

What did he say before the video started?

Israel link in my sig: "U.S. State Department: Israel discriminates against Christians" Read it.

[idiom]

I do too. But this didn't hurt Cruz as a presidential candidate. It helped him.

Cruz's problem is that he is not Paul Ryan and he is in the GOP.

[AngryCanadian]

“Religious bigotry is a cancer with many manifestations,” he continued. “ISIS, al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Hamas, state sponsors like Syria and Iran, are all engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East

Really? Syria is engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East? his very stupid on the issues of middle east regrading Syria.

[cindy25]

Amash , being a Middle east Christian, should have been the speaker. Cruz was really a stupid choice

[extortion17]

Thanks for posting this . . .

Cruz should stick to the floor of the United States Senate
where the Canadian-born "ineligible for the Presidency" Senator from the great state of Texas
can speak of the most important matters . . .

he's so passionate in this youtube . . . Cruz's best oratory style at work . . .



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-4FQAov2xI


\

[orenbus]

I think this has less to do with him talking about Jews or Israel and more to do with the fact that the audience realized he has no idea what he's talking about, or he does and is deliberately trying to move the crowd in a direction that makes no sense. Knowledgeable and intelligent people that live in the real world despise demagogues in any language or religion.

Just reading through Cruz's comments it was obvious he was trying to spew lines of hatred and propaganda and the audience wasn't buying it because they that live there understand the Middle East is a lot more complicated than what MSM or many politicians in the U.S. try to make it out to be. Some would say messaging is formed that way because either U.S. citizens don't have the attention span to want to hear a deeper conversation about complicated issues and want it simplified for them so that it can fit in a sound bite or a 60 second clip or that is just the nature of communication mediums today, whichever the case the public is not served by this.

Cruz's mention of "state-sponsored Syria" alone when it comes to genocide of Christians or religious minorities reminded me of a clip of a town hall a year ago (when attacking Assad was being proposed by the war hawks) where a WW2 veteran spoke to McCain about propaganda and what military involvement in Syria may actually end up resulting following unintended consequences. Also to put things in perspective at the time when the media was beating the war drums for that narrative the Alawites and Christians (as this WW2 Vet. was saying) were not being mentioned at all.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM95ozZLZzs

Bottom line the same messaging that may work for politicians here in the U.S. that try to simplify, obfuscate or outright misrepresent the actual facts of what happens in day to day life in the Middle East may work on those that are ignorant and uninformed, but doesn't work on people that know details of deeper discussions or those that actually live over there and represent people that do.


Edit: Putting this here for future reference 1:55 Cruz talks about beheading children, this claim (made a month ago) hasn't been verified yet it is still used as a reason for us to send in our military, even though all news agencies have retracted the report. Blitzer doesn't challenge the comment, thus indirectly supporting a continuation of unverified propaganda influencing viewers of CNN last night. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5cJv22Sdm8

[asurfaholic]

I almost came.


Say what?

[otherone]

But we shouldn’t try to parse different manifestations of evil that are on a murderous rampage through the region. Hate is hate, and murder is murder. Our purpose here tonight is to highlight a terrible injustice, a humanitarian crisis.”

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR5DCZ7NEXwUUP0jzCTFMio7sKSAdWw1 44MmoRxO0WH9nRuexi4

[vita3]

Cruz is the ultimate slimy politician.

[ifthenwouldi]

Apparently these people are unaware that they constitute a tiny minority of Christians worldwide

Yep. The dispensationalist's bubble.

[nayjevin]

Sometimes we are told not to loop these groups together, that we have to understand their so called nuances and differences. But we shouldn’t try to parse different manifestations of evil that are on a murderous rampage through the region.

Yeah lets not get all wrapped up in fear of collectivizing individuals. Not in wartime!

[Origanalist]

////

[erowe1]

Cruz's problem is that he is not Paul Ryan and he is in the GOP.

You suggesting that Paul Ryan has already been anointed by the establishment to be the Republican nominee?

[jmdrake]

Really? Syria is engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East? his very stupid on the issues of middle east regrading Syria.

LOL. Yeah. That is pretty retarded. Assad is the main one protecting Christians. It's interesting to note that Iraqi Christians fled to Syria, not Israel, after the overthrow of Saddam.

[jmdrake]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOOZ6aPooSk

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/10/ted-cruz-booed-off-stage-at-middle-east-christian-conference-video/#ixzz3CyDdAfsM

Oh wow. I just finally watched the clip. "If you will not stand with Israel than I will not stand with you." Really? So Ted I guess that means you don't actually care about the plight of middle eastern Christians. You just use them for a prop. Very disappointing.

[specsaregood]

You suggesting that Paul Ryan has already been anointed by the establishment to be the Republican nominee?

Seeing as I've had a number of boomers recently ask me what I think about Paul Ryan since he came out with a new book I can definitely see that as a distinct possibility. They even had him guest host the Hannity Radio show a couple weeks back.

[Inkblots]

Does anyone else besides me think Ted Cruz is a rather poor public speaker? Among other things, the sincerity meter only gets up to about a 1 or 2 for me when he speaks.

Yeah, he definitely broadcasts on the "used-car salesman" frequency for me. Part of it is probably due to all his years of high school and college debate; when you're trained to "passionately" defend both sides of an argument depending on the day, you run the risk of becoming reliant on phony platitudes.

Also, to rephrase the famous insult slightly: Ted Cruz is a stupid person's idea of what a wise statesman sounds like.


Yeah lets not get all wrapped up in fear of collectivizing individuals. Not in wartime!

And the thing that makes the Middle East an interventionist (secular jihadi?) Wonderland is that it's always wartime there! :D

[EBounding]

Cruz said that the crowd was applauding Jews being killed by terrorists. (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/09/10/Ted-Cruz--Opposition-to-Israel-Led-to-Me-Leaving-Event) Is there a longer video?

[erowe1]

Seeing as I've had a number of boomers recently ask me what I think about Paul Ryan since he came out with a new book I can definitely see that as a distinct possibility. They even had him guest host the Hannity Radio show a couple weeks back.

I definitely agree that it's a distinct possibility. But there are still a lot of other distinct possibilities out there as I see it.

Granted, whoever they pick, it won't be Cruz.

[specsaregood]

Yeah, he definitely broadcasts on the "used-car salesman" frequency for me. Part of it is probably due to all his years of high school and college debate; when you're trained to "passionately" defend both sides of an argument depending on the day, you run the risk of becoming reliant on phony platitudes.

Also, to rephrase the famous insult slightly: Ted Cruz is a stupid person's idea of a wise statesman sounds like.


I hate his slow, halted way of speaking. Some people like it I guess but it comes off to me like he thinks he is talking to retarded folk. To me it is just annoying and I cant listen for long.

[Inkblots]

Cruz said that the crowd was applauding Jews being killed by terrorists. (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/09/10/Ted-Cruz--Opposition-to-Israel-Led-to-Me-Leaving-Event) Is there a longer video?

If they didn't want to be seen as terrorists, they shouldn't have criticized Israel. We don't need any video.

"Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, 'He has blasphemed. What need of witnesses have we now? There! You have just heard the blasphemy.'"

[Christian Liberty]

They shouldn't have let Ted Cruz come home to run for President. They should have arrested him on the spot. He's a murderous scumbag.

[Shane Harris]

Cruz is the ultimate slimy politician.

That was my impression the very first time I saw him open his mouth in the Texas Primary.

[pcosmar]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism

More accurately described as Darbyism.

[mosquitobite]

Assad is the main one protecting Christians. It's interesting to note that Iraqi Christians fled to Syria, not Israel, after the overthrow of Saddam.

Why is this not talked about more? Rand should take note.

[mosquitobite]

That was my impression the very first time I saw him open his mouth in the Texas Primary.

Some of us recognize the egotistical panderers the minute they talk.

[Carlybee]

Does anyone else besides me think Ted Cruz is a rather poor public speaker? Among other things, the sincerity meter only gets up to about a 1 or 2 for me when he speaks.


He also looks like Grandpa Munster.


3078

[FloralScent]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Apparently these people are unaware that they constitute a tiny minority of Christians worldwide, the overwhelming majority of whom don't share their bizarre obsession with Israel. Meanwhile, the politicians (like Cruz) that these holy-rollers support are arming the barbarians in Syria who are butchering Christian communities that pre-date their own sect by nearly 20 centuries.

Insanity

I wouldn't worry too much about the comments, odds are they're mostly Megaphone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaphone_desktop_tool)users.

[Peace&Freedom]

More accurately described as Darbyism.

More accurately described as inaccurate. The leading advocates for the "Israel is our friend" obsession are evangelicals like Pat Robertson (not a dispensationalist). The neo-con mutation of evangelicals happened across the board, over the course of the '90's. The current Israel political idolatry does not come from dispensationalism or Darbyism, as it did not develop into its current state until the post-Reagan era. Biblical support for Israel being equated with lockstep political allegiance with AIPAC and the Likud government is of recent vintage.

Reagan/Bush era GOP kept lying to social conservatives about taking action on reversing social left victories (abortion, homosexuality, school prayer etc) throughout the '80's. So to placate the Christian right (and make them forget about the party's failures on moral issues) the neocons talked them into merging their theological and prophecy views with political Zionism, in order to give them a sense of political 'victory' when electing Republicans who ran on pro-Israel rhetoric. The scam worked, and broadly on the whole Christian right, be it dispensationalist on non-dispenationalist.

[COpatriot]

Love it. He just got the rude awakening he deserved. He cares more about a bunch of people who reject Jesus as a heretic than those who don't. Tells you everything you need to know.

[A. Havnes]

Has anybody watched the clip on Youtube? Gotta love the comments.


Arabs are subhuman dogs. It matters very little what religion those animals claim to follow, they are feral tribal sheep lovers. Bomb them all to hell.

Reasonable commenter:
I've heard this hatred before, The American Indians were called savages and killed by the millions. The blacks were called sub-human and enslaved. The Jews were called inferior, rounded up and gassed. Stop your hatred before it leads to ANOTHER holocaust.

Response: American Indians were polluting and killing our land, they killed most of the buffalos and polluted the water. Blacks have been given every chance on earth, every benefit, every penny of our taxes, every entitlement and what is the result? Wake up! Jews? They were rounded up and gassed by nazis and fascists equal to today's American liberals. Thank you for letting me educate you.


You're the one needs to extricate your head from Obama's ass. But don't worry. The Mooslims will cut your needless head off. Then we'll all be better off. You just keep voting for Dems and Libs and next thing you know SHARIA LAW!


When the Jews were being killed, lynched by mobs and thrown out of arab & muslim "countries", these "christians" stood idly by (when they didn't actually join in and persecute the Jews).


Ah, all the reasons why our country is hated and war is non-stop... It's funny how some people will choose Israel over their fellow Christians. It's almost like the country is an extension of the United States itself! :rolleyes:

War is Peace!
Freedom is Slavery!
Ignorance is Strength!

[Christian Liberty]

More accurately described as inaccurate. The leading advocates for the "Israel is our friend" obsession are evangelicals like Pat Robertson (not a dispensationalist). The neo-con mutation of evangelicals happened across the board, over the course of the '90's. The current Israel political idolatry does not come from dispensationalism or Darbyism, as it did not develop into its current state until the post-Reagan era. Biblical support for Israel being equated with lockstep political allegiance with AIPAC and the Likud government is of recent vintage.

Reagan/Bush era GOP kept lying to social conservatives about taking action on reversing social left victories (abortion, homosexuality, school prayer etc) throughout the '80's, so to placate the Christian right (and make them forget about the party's failures on moral issues) the neocons talked them into merging their theological and prophecy views with political Zionism, in order to give them a sense of political 'victory.' The scam worked, and broadly on the whole Christian right, be it dispensationalist on non-dispenationalit.

You cannot deny that in the modern US, dispensationalists are far more religious about their support for Israel than non-dispensationalists. I understand that there are exceptions but that is the general rule.

[Carlybee]

Love it. He just got the rude awakening he deserved. He cares more about a bunch of people who reject Jesus as a heretic than those who don't. Tells you everything you need to know.


A lot of mainstream Protestant churches now "embrace" Israel and it's not accidental, they have been courted for years through a propaganda campaign.

[Natural Citizen]

Yeah, he definitely broadcasts on the "used-car salesman" frequency for me.

Ha! I was getting ready to say the exact same thing. Not that there is anything wrong with used car salesmen. But, yes. He sounds just like one.

[Bastiat's The Law]

I hate his slow, halted way of speaking. Some people like it I guess but it comes off to me like he thinks he is talking to retarded folk. To me it is just annoying and I cant listen for long.

He sounds very lawyerish.

[A. Havnes]

A lot of mainstream Protestant churches now "embrace" Israel and it's not accidental, they have been courted for years through a propaganda campaign.

Definitely. It's amazing what abuse of scripture will do if you do it long enough.

I think a lot of it also boils down to, as someone else already said, the American need to have simple answers to everything. 9/11? They (Muslims) hate freedom. Middle East wars? They're all Jew-haters.

A lot of Americans need a clear-cut good guy and bad guy in any cause, so MSM plays up Israel as a kind of underdog good guy and then exploits the likes of Al Qaeda and ISIS as the bad guys, always neglecting to mention how these groups come about to begin with, for that would just complicate the issue.

Forgive the old television references, but this is all to often played up as though Israel and the United States are like a Jewish/Christian version of Hercules and Iolaus, or Xena and Gabrielle. Friends and allies to the end, always coming to the aid of the oppressed and weak. Nothing could be further from the truth, but that makes the issue messy and muddled.

In reality, there are very few instances where a situation is truly black and white.

[orenbus]

Here is the entire video at this link, it does seem they reacted negatively towards the talk of Israel.

http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2014/09/11/new-video-ted-cruz-booed-off-stage-by-middle-eastern.aspx

Here is a quote from the Brody File which has the video at the above link.


some in the crowd were Palestinian Christian supporters of the Syrian government


The event was billed as a gathering of Middle Eastern Christian leaders that were trying to raise awareness about the threat to Arab minorities by the terrorist group ISIS.


Look folks, a couple things here. Some, not all Christians in the Middle East see Israel in a far different light than evangelical Christians. Clearly, Ted Cruz understood that last night. But also, let’s remember here: Born-Again Evangelical Christians LOVE Israel. It’s just that simple.


Oh, one more thing. Ted Cruz getting booed off stage is not a bad scenario at all for the Senator. Standing with Israel and willing to walk off stage because of it will endear him to evangelical Christians around America, especially in (wink wink) Iowa and South Carolina if he runs for president.

[Lucille]

Israel is not a Christian nation
http://www.voxday.blogspot.com/2014/09/israel-is-not-christian-nation.html


Someone clearly needs to explain the difference to Sen. Ted Cruz, who is not someone that any sane conservative should be supporting for president:
[...]
Why on Earth is Cruz babbling about Israel and Jews when the topic is "In Defense of Christians". It's no secret that Israel is openly prejudiced against Christians and Christianity, although it does not persecute them. And Jews are not Christians; simply becoming acknowledging Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior is enough to legally render a Jew a non-Jew in the eyes of Israeli law.

From Wikipedia: "The Supreme Court of Israel ruled in 1989 that Messianic Judaism constituted another religion, and that people who had become Messianic Jews were not therefore eligible for Aliyah under the law."

Now, I support Israel and defend its right to exist. But it was downright weird, and totally inappropriate, for Cruz to attempt to transform an event dedicated to the defense of persecuted Christians into public Holocaustianity.

[orenbus]

Here is a another speaker that night, I think this may have been one of the people in the audience that stood up and protested Cruz's comments that you can see in the full video I linked above.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkfG0cZ0_hg


In powerful remarks offered at the "In Defense of Christians' inaugural conference in Washington, DC, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I reflected on the imperatives of Christian unity in the Middle East.

"Today, the churches of the Middle East, together, with firm determination, with renewed faith and commitment, affirm in the Middle East and before the international community: from this faith, no one can shake us; from our rights, from our responsibilities, from our commitment, from our lands, from our regions where we are deeply rooted - no one can shake us, not any power in this world," stated His Holiness Aram I to over 600 religious leaders and believers.

"Unity, dear friends, is a source of strength," continued His Holiness Aram I. "Let the theologians discuss issues related to Christology, pneumatology, theology and dogma. Unity for Christians in the Middle East is being together, praying together, reflecting together, acting together, struggling together and committing ourselves to the preservation of our unity, integrity and our rights in the Middle East."

For more information about the In Defense of Christians (IDC) inaugural conference visit:
http://www.indefenseofchristians.org/

[specsaregood]

Now, I support Israel and defend its right to exist.

I know I've said this before but I'll rant on it again. I HATE this meme that Israel has a "right" to exist. No it does NOT. No govt has a right to exist. To give it such a thing is to say that the people living there dont' have the right to dissolve their government. The people have the right to form a government or dissolve it as they see fit.

[supermario21]

We receive a Catholic newspaper from our diocese every week and a few weeks ago there was an interesting article from the point of view of Palestinian Christians, many of whom are Eastern Rite Catholics and Orthodox (AKA: heretics to most evangelical protestants). They of course want peace more than anything else but leadership was talking about how Hamas leaders were more friendly to them than Israeli leaders were when it came to protecting houses of worship, etc...Of course we never hear this from the mainstream media or FOX for that matter. The AIPAC propaganda runs rampant in this country. I'm glad these Christians stood up to Cruz. Hopefully they invite Rand Paul or Amash in the future.

[Lucille]

My question is, why was Cruz even invited? Rand is the pol who first talked about ME Christians being persecuted in Bushbama proxy war on ME Christians (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?392622-The-US-proxy-war-on-MENA-Christians-continues-apace).

Ted Cruz Crashes Defense of Christians Summit
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/coppage/ted-cruz-crashes-defense-of-christians-summit/


The plight of Christians in the Middle East has swept to the fore of public consciousness in recent weeks as ISIS and related organizations have systematically persecuted and murdered Christians, driving them from homes that date back to the very beginning of Christendom. The In Defense of Christians Summit was organized to bring together Christians of every sect and denomination to stand in solidarity with their persecuted brethren. Summit participants spent Wednesday on Capitol Hill, meeting with members of Congress to drive home their message.

Ted Cruz, however, fractured that unity. Hours before his keynote yesterday, the Washington Free Beacon ran a customarily nuanced headline blaring, “Cruz Headlines Conference Featuring Hezbollah Supporters.” The story referenced several of the leading Middle Eastern Christian leaders present and their own remarks about their region’s politics, taking particular pains to note that Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Raï has an open dialogue with Hezbollah, the Shi’ite Lebanese political party and State Department designated terrorist organization. Lebanon has a long history of inter-religious conflict and is split between Sunni, Shi’ite, and Christian communities. Many Christians in the region have either allied with or received shelter from Shi’ite Muslim communities in the face of radical Sunni organizations like al-Qaeda and ISIS.
[...]
In Defense of Christians executive director Andrew Doran later came to the stage to acknowledge the sensitivity of the Israel-Palestinian issue, but urged, “For the love of God, we’re here to talk about Christians and we’re here to be united.” When Cardinal Raï took the stage after the dinner, he related an old Lebanese saying, “At every wedding, there are a few wedding crashers,” said he was sorry for the events earlier that evening. He urged all in the crowd to put the unpleasantness behind them, an urging that echoed through the remarks of all the leaders speaking that night.
[...]
While the Cruz incident was a low-light for the summit, the Christian leaders gathered at the dinner continued to make vigorous defenses of the separation of church and state and the importance of inculcating pluralism in the Middle East. I sat next to an Iraqi man whose family had been turned out of their homes and had to flee the area their people had settled for thousands of years. Those sufferers should be the focus in discussing IDC and its summit, and they should not be made into pawns or proxies for other conflicts.

How the Iraq War Became a War on Christians
And why supporting Syria's rebels may extinguish Christianity in its oldest environs.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/how-the-iraq-war-became-a-war-on-christians/

[Brian4Liberty]

My question is, why was Cruz even invited?
Ted Cruz Crashes Defense of Christians Summit
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/coppage/ted-cruz-crashes-defense-of-christians-summit/


Ted Cruz, however, fractured that unity. Hours before his keynote yesterday, the Washington Free Beacon ran a customarily nuanced headline blaring, “Cruz Headlines Conference Featuring Hezbollah Supporters.”

Ted Cruz, however, fractured that unity. Hours before his keynote yesterday, the Washington Free Beacon ran a customarily nuanced headline blaring, “Cruz Headlines Conference Featuring Hezbollah Supporters.”


And Cruz had breakfast that day at neoconservative central?

Yep, this was an orchestrated publicity stunt.

509712933777985537

509718846417432578

[Inkblots]

And Cruz had breakfast that day at neoconservative central?

Yep, this was an orchestrated publicity stunt.


Not difficult to believe, sad as it is. I honestly think that the neocons would gladly see every Christian in the Middle East killed or turned into a refugee if it would increase Israel's poll support in the US by 3%.

The fact that so many neocons call themselves "Christians" is an embarrassment. Thank God that at least the Catholic Church speaks up for Arab and Syriac Christians.

[Peace&Freedom]

You cannot deny that in the modern US, dispensationalists are far more religious about their support for Israel than non-dispensationalists. I understand that there are exceptions but that is the general rule.

Evangelicals of whatever stripe were not robotically parroting the Likud line 25-30 years ago, this trend emerged afterwards, meaning something other than biblical doctrine led to it. Dispensationalists religiously support Israel the country, but dispensationalism of itself does not lead to kneejerk support for the policies of the Israeli government, any more than our supporting America means we embrace the Bush or Obama administration. It's the neocons who have created that distortion between country and government, both with Israel and with the US.

[FloralScent]

Evangelicals of whatever stripe were not robotically parroting the Likud line 25-30 years ago, this trend emerged afterwards, meaning something other than biblical doctrine led to it.

Constant indoctrination.

[Brian4Liberty]

Evangelicals of whatever stripe were not robotically parroting the Likud line 25-30 years ago, this trend emerged afterwards, meaning something other than biblical doctrine led to it. Dispensationalists religiously support Israel the country, but dispensationalism of itself does not lead to kneejerk support for the policies of the Israeli government, any more than our supporting America means we embrace the Bush or Obama administration. It's the neocons who have created that distortion between country and government, both with Israel and with the US.

Don't forget the influence of best-selling fiction writers like Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins...


Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey (born November 23, 1929) is an American evangelist and Christian writer. He is a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist author. He currently resides in Texas...In 1969, he wrote his first, and best-known book, The Late, Great Planet Earth.
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Lindsey



Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation Force against the Global Community and its leader Nicolae Carpathia—the Antichrist. Left Behind is also the title of the first book in the series. The series was first published 1995–2007 by Tyndale House, a firm with a history of interest in dispensationalism.
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Behind

[RonZeplin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2ZVihACwQ0

The Canadian Israeli community organizer Texas guest worker/dream student, Senator.

[enhanced_deficit]

... I HATE this meme that Israel has a "right" to exist. ..

In view of many Evangelical/Christion Zionists, Jesus has a right to have a landing strip and then convert all remaining jews/non-christians to "salvation".

[RonPaulMall]

Does anyone else besides me think Ted Cruz is a rather poor public speaker? Among other things, the sincerity meter only gets up to about a 1 or 2 for me when he speaks.

I find him insufferable and obnoxiously insincere. But I felt the same way about Obama and it didn't stop him from winning the primary and two general elections.

[devil21]

In view of many Evangelical/Christion Zionists, Jesus has a right to have a landing strip and then convert all remaining jews/non-christians to "salvation".

That's the weird part of the whole Christian Zionist thing for me. Isn't their support of Israel based on the prophecy that Israel has to be destroyed before Jesus returns? Strange way to show your support...

[supermario21]

That's the weird part of the whole Christian Zionist thing for me. Isn't their support of Israel based on the prophecy that Israel has to be destroyed before Jesus returns? Strange way to show your support...


Yeah, as a Roman Catholic I've always interpreted this dispensationalism to be a selfish ploy. Encourage zionism so that all Jews return to "Israel" (I use this in quotes because I believe that Biblical Israel is not connected to the secular state of Israel) so it can be destroyed.

[devil21]

Yeah, as a Roman Catholic I've always interpreted this dispensationalism to be a selfish ploy. Encourage zionism so that all Jews return to "Israel" (I use this in quotes because I believe that Biblical Israel is not connected to the secular state of Israel) so it can be destroyed.

Oh so that's what 'dispensationalism' throughout this thread means. I don't keep up on the fancy religious terms. Do Christian Zionists generally realize this as the goal or are most just sheep that buy into the Hagee type rhetoric while not understanding the meaning behind it?

[Smitty]

Cruz knew exactly what response his message would get and his closing line was prepared well before he stated it.

His whole purpose in speaking to the Middle Eastern Christians was to tell the world that he didn't "stand with them".

[DFF]

Fuck Ted Cruz. And fuck all these other politicians who put Israel's interests ahead of the United States.

[supermario21]

Oh so that's what 'dispensationalism' throughout this thread means. I don't keep up on the fancy religious terms. Do Christian Zionists generally realize this as the goal or are most just sheep that buy into the Hagee type rhetoric while not understanding the meaning behind it?

I believe it is something along those lines. And not even all evangelicals believe in it, but it seems to be becoming more pervasive. From what I've read about it, they believe that all Jews must return to their homeland (the zionism part) in order for Jesus to return and destroy it. Now a lot of that is from sifting around Catholic answers lol but I believe that is where the "Stand With Israel" mantra comes from. It's essentially to get played by the Hagee-type hucksters.

[CPUd]

There are people on RPFs who cheer on riots because they believe armed revolution is the only way to 'restore' the US.

[RandallFan]

It could help Cruz if it looks like an ethnic pandering group attacked him. I wonder if it was more to do with hate for the Neocons pushing to bomb assad.

I don't think it is a good idea to say the War on Drugs hurts blacks and this is why the GOP oppose it. It looks like pandering. They should just say it is a waste of money and many people will benefit such as blacks and young people.

I hope Savage covers this story. He hates Cruz.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsmax-Tv/savage-obama-israel-syria/2013/08/29/id/523018/


"What we know is true is that Israel is deeply involved in the war drum beating," said Savage, who said he considers himself "a friend of Israel."

"Assad's … not at war with Israel," he said, and Israel believes it has much less to fear from the regime if it’s without an air force.

Israel is "pulling [President] Obama’s strings," the talk show host maintained.

[devil21]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjMRgT5o-Ig

6:53 mark is disturbing.

[Brian4Liberty]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjMRgT5o-Ig

You found all of your answers right there. Note the reference to the Left Behind books and movies.

They want a big war in the Middle East so they can be raptured, and then they will have a ring-side seat for Armageddon.

Note the other political bonus that derives from those that believe the end of the world is around the corner: they don't have to care about government spending and debt, the economy, or anything related to the future of America.

[Demigod]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2ZVihACwQ0

The Canadian Israeli community organizer Texas guest worker/dream student, Senator.

This is deliberate provocation.I am amazed someone did not come up and attack him.Their relatives are dying back home so they are trying to find help around the world and this clown uses their podium not only to spread his agenda but while doing it discredits their cause as well.

Also to me at least it seams that a lot of Americans are more Jewish than Christian ( they just call them self's Christian for traditions sake ),all the time everything they write about God is Old Testament vengeance and pain.And to claim that someone is not Christian just because he does not support Israel is beyond stupidity.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Wow, Senator Ted Cruz has become the Zionists/NEOCONS puppet and sounds more like a programmed replicant. Another sellout politician or maybe he's just been programmed with the latest chip out of Zionist operations of EMET, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lMHKvoECaE) JCRC (http://www.imakenews.com/jcrcgw/e_article000386797.cfm?x=b11,0,w), or CIPAC lobbyists? People keep thinking AIPAC, but it's all of these special interest eg, EMET, CIPAC, and ZOA who are more involved in US government than ever before.
http://kwout.com/cutout/8/jc/am/v7g_bor.jpg

Sarah and Buddy Stern and their associates at EMET, will be holding a gala event on Capitol Hill to honor Senator Ted Cruz, Sarah is also on the executive staff of, the Zionist Organization of America(ZOA).

CIPAC Archives CIPAC ONLINE (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:oHBmjhkcWTMJ:cipaconline.org/tag/cipac/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-nightly)

Ted Cruz has proven himself to be a two-faced insincere lying panderer which is kinda scary in he sounds just like Congressman and 'now rewarded governor' of Indiana Mike Pence' or governor presidential 2016 chosen-one, Rick 'Texas-Israeli Chamber of Commerce' Perry.


Oh well, George Carlin warned everyone of these bought and paid for politicians and of course, don't count of things getting better, as long as Americans remain willfully ignorant. The puppetmasters control almost all levels of government and it appears we are just along for the ride, given America's voting record and programming.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2ZVihACwQ0

The Canadian Israeli community organizer Texas guest worker/dream student, Senator.

Here's July pandering

http://kwout.com/cutout/x/xi/gv/7gy_bor.jpg

[Christian Liberty]

@Peace and Freedom- I understand that it doesn't require supporting every facet of Israel's foreign policy, but can a dispensationalist really say that Israel is no longer God's chosen nation and that Christians have no special obligation to support them?

[Ecolibertarian]

I am not totally unconvinced that Cruz may be campaigning for the express purpose of helping Rand get elected at the convention. I'm guessing Cruz might like to be A.G. or on the SCOTUS.Interesting. I haven't heard that suggested before. I'm a little skeptical, because he seems so incredibly ambitious. Can you go into your thinking a bit here?

[Peace&Freedom]

@Peace and Freedom- I understand that it doesn't require supporting every facet of Israel's foreign policy, but can a dispensationalist really say that Israel is no longer God's chosen nation and that Christians have no special obligation to support them?

Yes they can, although I still point out neocons have been very successful in steering adherents of the theological views into conflating it with modern political Zionism. Dispensationalism is largely about making or administering proper distinctions, be it between different points in history, different programs for different groups, different conditions for Divine intervention, etc. There is a difference in scripture between God's promises (which are conditional, or depend on the faithfulness of a person or people in order for God to fulfill them), versus prophecies (which are unconditional and will happen regardless of the behavior of the people in question).

Israel's status of God's chosen people was a promise that depended on their remaining righteous, and accepting the Savior---when Jews failed to accept Jesus, the promises were switched to the Christian church (body of believers) who became "spiritual Israel." This however, does not change the prophecies that were made regarding a physical nation of Israel, which are mainly as yet unfulfilled, and did not transfer to Christians. Whether the current reconstituted nation is the physical nation of end-time prophecy can be debated. Nonetheless, those prophecies will be fulfilled to a future physical Israel, but until then Christians are not obligated to give it special status or support as the chosen nation.

[fr33]

Being fairly ignorant of what goes on in evangelical churches, I'm more inclined to believe right wing radio and tv pundits do just as much to make people become Israel-firsters. I know a lot of Catholics who are like Cruz on this.

[Brian4Liberty]

Here's some spin on the story. These people are all allied with Obama...

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/09/11/Hours-After-Booing-Ted-Cruz-Off-Stage-For-His-Support-of-Israel-Christian-Leaders-Meet-With-And-Praise-Obama

[Brett85]

This will probably make Cruz go up 10% in the GOP primary election polls. All of the conservative websites love it, and he even posted about this on his Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/SenatorTedCruz/posts/610572999055004

[supermario21]

What's silly is that these leaders aren't allied with Obama..They just want someone, ANYONE willing to listen to their concerns and their concerns only. And not go pontificating about Israel. Note that many of the people commenting are calling out Catholics, Paul supporters, and terrorists and lumping them all together as "not Christian" or "anti-Semite," etc...

Quite frankly, it's absolutely repugnant stuff. Cruz should be ashamed of himself and I hope that the Catholic and Orthodox right educate themselves and stand with our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters. I've seen folks like Michael Brendan Dougherty and Ross Douthat among many others condemning Cruz. Hopefully if someone asks Rand for a comment he says something like "I told you so" or points out his efforts to protect the Christian population rather than parrot this pro-Israel screed.

[CPUd]

510006479508627456

[Carlybee]

You have to wonder if he too is on Goldman Sachs payroll like his wife. I haven't researched it all but I do know GS invested 35 million dollars in an Israeli software firm startup. Gotta keep Israel, Inc. healthy too ya know.

[Lucille]

This will probably make Cruz go up 10% in the GOP primary election polls. All of the conservative websites love it, and he even posted about this on his Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/SenatorTedCruz/posts/610572999055004

Yeah, it's really disgusting. I've seen the Cruz acolytes say they're not real Christians. Such projection. In their minds, it's worse to boo Ted Cruz than Jesus.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/sen-ted-cruz-booed-off-stage/


Given his comments, and his response to the people who reacted by booing, it appears Cruz has no meaningful exposure to the actual experience of Middle Eastern Christians, nor does it seem he is even aware that there are millions of Middle Eastern Christians (and Jews, for that matter) who are strongly opposed to the official political and military policies of the modern state of Israel.

The phrase that ignited the disagreement is particularly telling: “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.”

What kind of worldview or theological bias would allow for such a statement? Only one that presumes there is a definite conformity between the needs and desires of Christians everywhere and the Middle East policy of the United States of America. It seems to me, in other words, that when Ted Cruz says “Christians have no greater ally than Israel,” he really means that “America has no greater ally than Israel” — and that the subjects of those two sentences are identical in his mind.

Such an idea, so disconnected from the personal suffering and experiences of the actual Christians who live in the Middle East, found little sympathy in a Washington, D.C. ballroom crowded with Christians from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and surrounding lands.
[...]
“I have never seen anything like this before,” Fr. Chris said. “Clearly, Cruz was out of his league and didn’t know the audience he was speaking to. They were highly offended by what he said, and, rather than backing off, he just kept digging in his heels. A huge mistake, leading to a sour moment in what was a very good conference.”

As a few others have said, he knew exactly who his audience was and what the reactions would be. Sickening.

No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up.
--Lily Tomlin

[erowe1]

510006479508627456

What Levin is referring to is the hatred he feels toward Middle Eastern Christians.

[georgiaboy]

I have new found distaste for Ted Cruz. What a shameful display.

[Lucille]

US Conservative Contempt For Arab Christians
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/us-conservative-contempt-for-arab-christians/


http://www.theamericanconservative.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BxTb9wYCIAAmPrE-554x337.jpg

Look at this sickening thing that Josh Greenman found online. Breitbart has since removed the scare quotes from the headline, but this is how it first went up:

__________________________________________________ ____

I remember when my wife and I began worshiping with the Maronites in Brooklyn back in 1999. It struck me one day that these people’s ancestors in Lebanon were worshiping Jesus Christ when my ancestors back in northern Europe were still praying to trees. It was shocking, and embarrassing, to discover how little I knew about Arab Christianity — and in turn how these ancient Christian communities didn’t really exist in the minds of most American Christians.
[...]
You will appreciate, then, what a diplomatic feat it was to bring a group of top Christian leaders from the Middle East together in Washington for a summit to talk about the crisis of the persecution of Christians in the region. The Washington Free Beacon shamefully characterized the event as a pro-Hezbollah hootenanny, citing the anti-Israel politics of some conference participants as if that were the most important thing about this religious and human rights event. As if Israelis were the only people in the Middle East whose suffering matters.

And then, Sen. Ted Cruz showed up at the conference and made a fool of himself, lecturing these Middle Eastern Christians on what they ought to think about Israel.
[...]
Anti-Semitism among Christians, Arab and otherwise, is appalling, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what was at issue here. Ted Cruz came to this event apparently seeking to score points with a domestic US political constituencies at the expense of the desperate need for international Christian solidarity in the face of horrendous persecution by ISIS and other radical Islamic groups. To add to the insult, now Breitbart, a leading website of movement conservatism, questions the Christianity of these Arab men and women in that Washington room.

This is beyond infuriating. Arab Christians in the Middle East face persecution and death every day, simply because they are Christian. And this Dr. Susan Berry person on Breitbart distorts the truth — saying that Cruz was booed because he supported Israel, when in fact he was booed because he turned his speech into a pro-Israel lecture to a hostile audience — and then writes as if the only thing worth knowing about the Christians in that audience is that some of them had met with Hezbollah.

It was a disgusting smear by Berry and Breitbart, same as Alana Goodman’s smear in the WFB. I say that as someone who in no way shares the antipathy of these Christians for Israel. Five Christian patriarchs of persecuted Christian peoples came to the United States to meet and to talk about what their people are suffering, and these right-wing jackals, including Sen. Cruz, jumped them and tried to trash and exploit them for American political purposes.

The admirable Mollie Hemingway criticized her fellow conservatives for what they did to the Arab Christian leaders here. Excerpt:


One can certainly argue in support of Cruz’s statement — politically, at least — and yet also recognize how fraught the topic is for Christians in the region.

While the case absolutely can and should be made that support for Israel does help the fight against Christian persecution, it would be naive and wrong for Christians to think that the United States has their interests at heart globally (or domestically, it seems!). And the United States has no governmental obligation to help out the Christians who are dying in the Middle East, although it would be wonderful if we could stop doing things that lead so quickly to their persecution. But I do wonder if some hawks misunderstand or underestimate American Christian sentiment about our brothers and sisters in Christ at their peril.

I doubt it. Ted Cruz and the others know who they are speaking to: politically conservative Evangelicals:

[...] They deserve to be killed by ISIS because they don’t support Israel, or US policy in the Mideast? They deserve to be spited and mocked and used by a US Republican senator from Texas who now has the footage he needs to make a campaign commercial, and to pull in donations from home state megachurches? Meanwhile, the Christians of the Middle East, who have been worshiping there since the days Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth, are slowly being ground down to nothing. But hey, the American right-wing media machine took its pound of flesh out of the Christian patriarchs’ backsides, so it’s all cool, right?

[HOLLYWOOD]

AND... there you go. SO as you can see again, anyone writing or talking in media has to be vetted. Susan Berry writing for Breitbart, is a clinical psychologist Ph.D(licensed CT & NY) covering Ted Cruz, is well as aware what this Christian engagement was about and Ted Cruz' programmed motive(s). Say it isn't so these crafty deceivers of print propaganda... some things never change in media. :rolleyes:

http://cdn.breitbart.com/mediaserver/Breitbart/Columnists/Headshots-80x100/contributor-80x100-sberry.png


US Conservative Contempt For Arab Christians
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/us-conservative-contempt-for-arab-christians/

[EBounding]

Just tell people who "stand" with Israel about their socialist programs and state funded abortions. It won't change their minds, but it's interesting to see how they turn themselves in knots.

[Brett85]

I've made it clear that I don't have any problem with Israel, but at the same time I don't think it's fair to say that anyone who is critical of Israel's government is "hateful" or anti semitic. It's not like Israel is the only country where Jews live.

[dillo]

Its not really shocking to see this kind of crap from Cruz, at least for me. He seems to not be able to differentiate between "Israel" which is a nation, "jewish religion" and
"jewish people" which is a group of people.

A US senator saying "if you won't stand with Israel and the jews than I will not stand with you" is wrong on so many levels

[HVACTech]

A US senator saying "if you won't stand with Israel and the jews than I will not stand with you" is wrong on so many levels

you are clearly not from the deep south. :)

[DamianTV]

Its not really shocking to see this kind of crap from Cruz, at least for me. He seems to not be able to differentiate between "Israel" which is a nation, "jewish religion" and
"jewish people" which is a group of people.

A US senator saying "if you won't stand with Israel and the jews than I will not stand with you" is wrong on so many levels

Taken a step further, he is saying that if we do not support "Israel" (using the definition as the "Nation" for this case) when Israel (Nation) supports Violence, he wont stand with us. Which I hope corrects the misphrasing there.

I for one will not offer my support to anyone or any group that chooses any form of violence over peaceful alternatives, so I will not support either the Status Quo, or those in Israel (Nation) who constantly bang the War Drums. I have nothing against Jewish people. It seems like many people realize this also.

Now, the reason he seems to have confused the definition is that either Cruz is promoting or has been affected by standard Group Think Psychology. And Group Think is being exploited so that people stop thinking of labeled groups as Human Beings.

[dillo]

you are clearly not from the deep south. :)

The southern strategy really backfired

[dillo]

Taken a step further, he is saying that if we do not support "Israel" (using the definition as the "Nation" for this case) when Israel (Nation) supports Violence, he wont stand with us. Which I hope corrects the misphrasing there.

I for one will not offer my support to anyone or any group that chooses any form of violence over peaceful alternatives, so I will not support either the Status Quo, or those in Israel (Nation) who constantly bang the War Drums. I have nothing against Jewish people. It seems like many people realize this also.

Now, the reason he seems to have confused the definition is that either Cruz is promoting or has been affected by standard Group Think Psychology. And Group Think is being exploited so that people stop thinking of labeled groups as Human Beings.

I am in no position to judge the military actions of the Israelis, however blindly supporting anything defies logic and I am opposed to any entangling alliance with a foreign nation.

[erowe1]

The southern strategy really backfired

Since 1969 Republicans have occupied the White House 28 years versus 20 for Democrats (counting in the remaining years of Obama's second term).

[anaconda]

Interesting. I haven't heard that suggested before. I'm a little skeptical, because he seems so incredibly ambitious. Can you go into your thinking a bit here?

Nothing too esoteric. I just continually wonder if Rand and others may have forged a bit of a "team strategy." Cruz may be trying to roll up the hard core fundamentalist GOP base against the other team's players within this category, like Frothy and The Huckster. With the express intention of eventually turning them over to Rand with a ringing endorsement. Apart from any possible "team strategy," Cruz may be doing this entirely on his own with the same ultimate intentions, but to extract as many favors as possible in the process. Either way, this gives Rand more freedom to speak more widely on issues and frame more of a general election platform even before the primary debates begin. The more hostile and, as you say, "ambitious" Cruz appears to us, the more he has succeeded in differentiating his "brand" in contrast to Rand's, and makes himself appear more legitimate to the fundamentalist GOP base. Divide and conquer, possibly?

[Smitty]

Nothing too esoteric. I just continually wonder if Rand and others may have forged a bit of a "team strategy." Cruz may be trying to roll up the hard core fundamentalist GOP base against the other team's players within this category, like Frothy and The Huckster. With the express intention of eventually turning them over to Rand with a ringing endorsement. Apart from any possible "team strategy," Cruz may be doing this entirely on his own with the same ultimate intentions, but to extract as many favors as possible in the process. Either way, this gives Rand more freedom to speak more widely on issues and frame more of a general election platform even before the primary debates begin. The more hostile and, as you say, "ambitious" Cruz appears to us, the more he has succeeded in differentiating his "brand" in contrast to Rand's, and makes himself appear more legitimate to the fundamentalist GOP base. Divide and conquer, possibly?

You think too much.

Cruz just saw an opportunity to appeal to both the ignorant and to Israel and took advantage of it.

You can't get anywhere in American politics without the support of the ignorant and Israel.

[WD-NY]

Nothing too esoteric. I just continually wonder if Rand and others may have forged a bit of a "team strategy." Cruz may be trying to roll up the hard core fundamentalist GOP base against the other team's players within this category, like Frothy and The Huckster. With the express intention of eventually turning them over to Rand with a ringing endorsement. Apart from any possible "team strategy," Cruz may be doing this entirely on his own with the same ultimate intentions, but to extract as many favors as possible in the process. Either way, this gives Rand more freedom to speak more widely on issues and frame more of a general election platform even before the primary debates begin. The more hostile and, as you say, "ambitious" Cruz appears to us, the more he has succeeded in differentiating his "brand" in contrast to Rand's, and makes himself appear more legitimate to the fundamentalist GOP base. Divide and conquer, possibly?

This is pretty much what I thought/hoped at first too - from a game theory standpoint, the strategy you outline would be virtually unbeatable if carried out fully by both Cruz and Rand. But now I'm not so sure that's the deal-io any longer even though the payoff would be literally historic for both of them (re: Rand gets presidency while Cruz gets whatever position in gov he wants e.g. Supreme Court, Secretary of State, etc.). I suspect that the establishment, knowing that they need Cruz to split the conservative base between himself and Rand in order for their RHINO candidate to win, pays a heck of a lot better than the Liberty/tea party movement can (given the bottomless bank account of their corporate bosses/backers)

Oh well, hope you're right in the end :)

[extortion17]

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis


I do too. But this didn't hurt Cruz as a presidential candidate. It helped him.

only on the surface does this help Cruz - imho
he has too many problems . . . like ineligibility to be President or Vice-President as the Supreme Court is clear about what a native-born U.S. citizen is.


http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo161/sunblush/ted-cruz-canada001b_zpsf9838efa.jpg (http://s372.photobucket.com/user/sunblush/media/ted-cruz-canada001b_zpsf9838efa.jpg.html)




Nothing too esoteric. I just continually wonder if Rand and others may have forged a bit of a "team strategy." Cruz may be trying to roll up the hard core fundamentalist GOP base against the other team's players within this category, like Frothy and The Huckster. With the express intention of eventually turning them over to Rand with a ringing endorsement. Apart from any possible "team strategy," Cruz may be doing this entirely on his own with the same ultimate intentions, but to extract as many favors as possible in the process. Either way, this gives Rand more freedom to speak more widely on issues and frame more of a general election platform even before the primary debates begin. The more hostile and, as you say, "ambitious" Cruz appears to us, the more he has succeeded in differentiating his "brand" in contrast to Rand's, and makes himself appear more legitimate to the fundamentalist GOP base. Divide and conquer, possibly?

No, Cruz isn't turning over his zionist chicken hawks over to Rand . . . we wouldn't want them . . . they are Hillary supporters

so this "Southern Strategy" does not win the general election for the GOP . . .

Rand would already have the southern states in the general election



Does anyone else besides me think Ted Cruz is a rather poor public speaker? Among other things, the sincerity meter only gets up to about a 1 or 2 for me when he speaks.



He sounds very lawyerish.

Canadian-born Cruz is most passionate and very sincere about green eggs and ham -
about which he knows best . . .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-4FQAov2xI

[vita3]

Cruz is nothing but a weasel's weasel.

[anaconda]

No, Cruz isn't turning over his zionist chicken hawks over to Rand . . . we wouldn't want them . . . they are Hillary supporters

I am having difficulty imagining red state registered Republicans voting for Mrs. Clinton..

[THX 1138]

You have to wonder if he too is on Goldman Sachs payroll like his wife. I haven't researched it all but I do know GS invested 35 million dollars in an Israeli software firm startup. Gotta keep Israel, Inc. healthy too ya know.


Yep. And Goldman Sachs employees were initially among Obama's strongest financial supporters.

Later, they switched and started donating money to Mitt Romney. I think this was around the time that Romney was campaigning for US President...in Israel.

[charrob]

I'm not surprised at all. It angers me that he supports Israel

...unfortunately they all seem to support what the Israeli government does to the Palestinians. It's one thing to care about the Jewish people (and all people for that matter); it's quite another to support a military that frequently "mows the lawn"... but apparently even Rand supports that...

http://i1374.photobucket.com/albums/ag411/carol_green2/RandPaul_zps7e024149.jpg (http://s1374.photobucket.com/user/carol_green2/media/RandPaul_zps7e024149.jpg.html)

[anaconda]

...unfortunately they all seem to support what the Israeli government does to the Palestinians. It's one thing to care about the Jewish people (and all people for that matter); it's quite another to support a military that frequently "mows the lawn"... but apparently even Rand supports that...

http://i1374.photobucket.com/albums/ag411/carol_green2/RandPaul_zps7e024149.jpg (http://s1374.photobucket.com/user/carol_green2/media/RandPaul_zps7e024149.jpg.html)

This is trying my patience, Rand.

[Valli6]

This is trying my patience, Rand.
Ditto. Duel loyalties really bother me.

[KingNothing]

Does anyone else besides me think Ted Cruz is a rather poor public speaker? Among other things, the sincerity meter only gets up to about a 1 or 2 for me when he speaks.

He's like a used car salesman. He never sounds genuine.

[Brett85]

This is trying my patience, Rand.

If Rand is going to lose your support because he isn't openly anti Israel, he's probably better off without your support.

[Christian Liberty]

This is trying my patience, Rand.
Why is this worse than saying Chris Kyle was a hero?

[anaconda]

If Rand is going to lose your support because he isn't openly anti Israel, he's probably better off without your support.

I don't want him to be openly anti-Israel.

[anaconda]

Why is this worse than saying Chris Kyle was a hero?

Not necessarily worse.

[RonPaulGeorge&Ringo]

That would be great if Cruz is the liberty movement's cruise missle against the neocons.... I won't be holding my breath though. We shall see.


Nothing too esoteric. I just continually wonder if Rand and others may have forged a bit of a "team strategy." Cruz may be trying to roll up the hard core fundamentalist GOP base against the other team's players within this category, like Frothy and The Huckster. With the express intention of eventually turning them over to Rand with a ringing endorsement. Apart from any possible "team strategy," Cruz may be doing this entirely on his own with the same ultimate intentions, but to extract as many favors as possible in the process. Either way, this gives Rand more freedom to speak more widely on issues and frame more of a general election platform even before the primary debates begin. The more hostile and, as you say, "ambitious" Cruz appears to us, the more he has succeeded in differentiating his "brand" in contrast to Rand's, and makes himself appear more legitimate to the fundamentalist GOP base. Divide and conquer, possibly?

Well I reckon Rand might offer Cruz a seat on SCOTUS if joins team Rand. That would be appropriate.

[devil21]

That would be great if Cruz is the liberty movement's cruise missle against the neocons.... I won't be holding my breath though. We shall see.



Well I reckon Rand might offer Cruz a seat on SCOTUS if joins team Rand. That would be appropriate.

The guy that's married to a CFR member and Goldman executive? That guy? Be serious.

[Brian4Liberty]

Don't forget the influence of best-selling fiction writers like Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins...


Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey (born November 23, 1929) is an American evangelist and Christian writer. He is a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist author. He currently resides in Texas...In 1969, he wrote his first, and best-known book, The Late, Great Planet Earth.
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Lindsey



Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation Force against the Global Community and its leader Nicolae Carpathia—the Antichrist. Left Behind is also the title of the first book in the series. The series was first published 1995–2007 by Tyndale House, a firm with a history of interest in dispensationalism.
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Behind

And how convenient. The new movie version of "Left Behind" is about to be released.

"We must go to war to bring the rapture!"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrXe8YDbzYs

[RJB]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwt2qBPSj2g

Palestinians keep hiding weapons where kid are. Don't blame Israel, the Palestinians did this destruction to themselves. :rolleyes:

[Christian Liberty]

And how convenient. The new movie version of "Left Behind" is about to be released.

"We must go to war to bring the rapture!"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrXe8YDbzYs

I've read all of the Left Behind books (all 56 of them between the two series')... unfortunately, I read them when I was still a conservative dispie so I'm not sure how zionist they were. The story was interesting but the theology is awful.

[Lucille]

The Middle East’s Friendless Christians
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/opinion/sunday/ross-douthat-the-middle-easts-friendless-christians.html


WHEN the long, grim history of Christianity’s disappearance from the Middle East is written, Ted Cruz’s performance last week at a conference organized to highlight the persecution of his co-religionists will merit at most a footnote. But sometimes a footnote can help illuminate a tragedy’s unhappy whole.

For decades, the Middle East’s increasingly beleaguered Christian communities have suffered from a fatal invisibility in the Western world. And their plight has been particularly invisible in the United States, which as a majority-Christian superpower might have been expected to provide particular support.

There are three reasons for this invisibility. The political left in the West associates Christian faith with dead white male imperialism and does not come naturally to the recognition that Christianity is now the globe’s most persecuted religion. And in the Middle East the Israel-Palestine question, with its colonial overtones, has been the left’s great obsession, whereas the less ideologically convenient plight of Christians under Islamic rule is often left untouched.

To America’s strategic class, meanwhile, the Middle East’s Christians simply don’t have the kind of influence required to matter. A minority like the Kurds, geographically concentrated and well-armed, can be a player in the great game, a potential United States ally. But except in Lebanon, the region’s Christians are too scattered and impotent to offer much quid for the superpower’s quo. So whether we’re pursuing stability by backing the anti-Christian Saudis or pursuing transformation by toppling Saddam Hussein (and unleashing the furies on Iraq’s religious minorities), our policy makers have rarely given Christian interests any kind of due.

Then, finally, there is the American right, where one would expect those interests to find a greater hearing. But the ancient churches of the Middle East (Eastern Orthodox, Chaldean, Maronites, Copt, Assyrian) are theologically and culturally alien to many American Catholics and evangelicals. And the great cause of many conservative Christians in the United States is the state of Israel, toward which many Arab Christians harbor feelings that range from the complicated to the hostile.

Which brings us to Ted Cruz, the conservative senator and preacher’s son, who was invited to give the keynote address last week at a Washington, D.C., summit conference organized in response to religious cleansing by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
[...]
Many conservatives think Cruz acquitted himself admirably, and he’s earned admiring headlines around the right-wing web. There is a certain airless logic to this pro-Cruz take — that because Assad and Hezbollah are murderers and enemies of Israel, anyone who deals with them deserves to be confronted, and if that confrontation meets with boos, you’ve probably exposed anti-Semites who deserve to be attacked still more.

But this logic shows not a scintilla of sympathy for what it’s actually like to be an embattled religious minority, against whom genocide isn’t just being threatened but actually carried out.
[...]
If Cruz felt that he couldn’t in good conscience address an audience of persecuted Arab Christians without including a florid, “no greater ally” preamble about Israel, he could have withdrawn from the event. The fact that he preferred to do it this way instead says a lot — none of it good — about his priorities and instincts.

I believe the consensus on the "right" is that "they're not real Christians" (and project much?!).

[enhanced_deficit]

Cruz is the ultimate slimy politician.

That was blunt.

BTW anyone from team Rafael Teddy Cruz or team canada surfing here?

[enhanced_deficit]

On a related note, if any of his American or Canadian supporters are surfing here, does R Edward Cruz think Obama is also full of hate?

http://www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Anti+Obama+Posters+Displayed+Jerusalem+vWghLDupEYz l.jpg (http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=4AeABBzOSnk3tM&tbnid=ufI5iSZIu4ocuM:&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ronpaulforums.com%2Fshowthrea d.php%3F443081-John-Kerry-threatens-Israel-with-economic-boycott&ei=ZMofVOCMGMSfggT_qoHQAQ&bvm=bv.75775273,d.eXY&psig=AFQjCNEvcIu6J01Uzd2ePy2KMy_mJuhzdw&ust=1411455935826850)

[enhanced_deficit]

Scum.

To be fair, he has been consistent. He had attacked not just mideast Chtistains who did not stand with our closest ally Israel but also called out 'anti-semitism' od US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who had accused Israeli lobbies of bribing US Politicians.




Ilhan Omar slams Ted Cruz for attacking her Israel comments without acknowledging synagogue shooting

Bailey Vogt The Washington TimesApril 29, 2019

Rep. Ilhan Omar chastised Sen. Ted Cruz Sunday for resurfacing her “anti-Semitic” Israel comments but has yet to acknowledge the Poway, California, synagogue shooting.

Ms. Omar, Minnesota Democrat, then shot back, criticizing the senator for condemning her comments, saying he has yet to condemn an actual attack on a Jewish synagogue Saturday.
“A white nationalist literally terrorized a synagogue during Passover yesterday and you have yet to say anything. Shame on you,” Ms. Omar tweeted.
Ms. Omar offered condolences Saturday for the victims of the California synagogue shooting that left one person dead and three injured. The suspect in the deadly shooting, 19-year-old John T. Earnest, turned himself into the police shortly after the attack.
Ms. Omar has faced accusations of anti-Semitism since criticizing pro-Israel lobbyist groups and questioning the loyalty of Jewish lawmakers who pushed back against her criticisms of the Israeli government.

https://www.apnews.com/9a4a9af6b64d35ef4603a284f1c92813




Related

Democrat Ilhan Omar Blames West for Terror (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?537447-Democrat-Ilhan-Omar-Blames-West-for-Terror&)


https://images.dailykos.com/images/584477/large/billboard_cruz_bible.jpg?1535980364
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/161/125/7bc.jpg